We Are Here . . . What Next?

The plan for how we were going to go about building a cabin took much thought.  We were over a year into the covid nonsense, life was surreal at the least, and the cost of necessary building materials such as lumber was sky high.  For people who have a limitless budget, maybe that’s not a big deal, but Hubby retired early to make this move, with a focus aimed down the road with starting his own hobby business. The one positive thing I can say about covid is that employers learned who could work effectively from home, and as a result I was going to be able to keep working  remotely for the company I’ve been with for awhile.  The proceeds from the sale of our house needed to be carefully budgeted, so we weighed the options carefully.

It was decided that we could downsize drastically and my extremely talented Hubby could create a small house (it’s a little too large to be called a “tiny” home) out of a 14′ wide by 40′ long storage shed building.  A floor, 4 walls and a roof – done correctly, this was doable.  Two sheds were ordered, to be placed side by side. One would be used as a cabin, and the other for workshop and storage. After plotting, planning, getting very creative with the design and storage – our cabin went from a shed, to a lovely, warm, inviting home that makes me smile every time I look around. It’s big enough for the two of us, the dog and the cat. We can have one or two people over to see us, but there’s not much room for additional seating or dining. We have other plans down the road for places to socialize. For now, we needed a place to live . . . and I couldn’t be happier.  I have to give credit completely to Hubby. He has done an amazing job.  I am beginning to think there is nothing he can’t do if he puts his mind to it.

The building on the left will be the workshop, the one on the right will be the cabin.

I forgot to get a picture of the building before anything was started in side, but this will give a good idea of how much living space we would have.

The plan will include a living room with a wood stove – it gets cold here in the winter – a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.  That’s all we really would ever need – to have a warm shelter, a place to prepare our meals and sleep.

It took approximately 5 months of very hard work by my Hubby, but at last the bedroom was ready for us to move into. The rest of the cabin would take a bit longer, but we could at least sleep there.  A few months more, and our lovely cabin was ready to live in completely.  All of the planning and hard work could not have prepared me for how lovely our new home turned out.  Honestly, I get a little thrill every time I walk through the door and I don’t think that feeling will ever go away.

When we walk in the door, the living room is in shades of grey and white, with a cozy wood stove that keeps us toasty and warm during the cold winter days and nights. It is peaceful and calming. At the end of a work day, I enter this haven and breathe a sigh of contentment. Beyond the living room is my kitchen. The cabin design started with the kitchen, and since he knows how important this space is to me, Hubby created this space to be easy to create meals, it’s at the heart of the home – both literally and figuratively. It is bright, beautiful and everything I dreamed it would be.

I somehow managed to not get any pictures of the bedroom after the furnishings were brought into the house, but here it is in its bare, fresh form. Eventually I’ll try to get pictures, but right now, I’m sitting next to a crackling fire with my feet up and I’m not inclined to get up and take pictures.  Our bathroom is off the bedroom, quite small but perfect for us. You can see it through the door in the picture on the right, but it wasn’t finished at that point.  Situated between the kitchen and the bedroom is a space that was going to be a fun saloon, complete with swinging cowboy doors, but reality is, we needed a washer and dryer. We bought a small RV size washer and dryer – it’s perfect for us! That portion of the cabin isn’t finished yet, but when it is, it will now be a Saloondry – get it? Part Saloon and party laundry! HAHAHAHA. When it’s done I’ll show you.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to our new home. As the details are finished, and the outdoor portions take shape, I will share them with you.  The take-away from this is, that dreams do truly come true, so don’t ever stop dreaming.